IMDb plot summary: Rupert Pupkin is a passionate yet unsuccessful comic who craves nothing more than to be in the spotlight and to achieve this, he stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, and Sandra Bernhard.
2019's Joker got a lot of comparisons to this film, and, well, it's obvious why. Joker is basically a King of Comedy remake crossed with Batman fan fiction. De Niro is incredibly compelling here -- the scenes where he practices his interviews with his hero, trying out different laughs on his jokes, are both tragic and chilling. Even when he ultimately crosses the line to fully disturbing, his sense of "I'm a good guy, I had no choice but to do this, surely they'll understand" is very unsettling to behold. The film somehow manages to combine the taut pacing of a thriller with the unhurried character development of many of Scorsese's dramas, and it's a marvelous combination. This is definitely one I see rising to the upper echelons of my Scorsese chart.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The King of Comedy > Sunday in the Park with George
The King of Comedy > My Name Is Joe
The King of Comedy < The Disaster Artist
The King of Comedy > Muppets Most Wanted
The King of Comedy < Mad Max: Fury Road
The King of Comedy > Shoplifters
The King of Comedy < The Babysitter
The King of Comedy > Yojimbo
The King of Comedy < The Fallen Idol
The King of Comedy > The Player
The King of Comedy < Thermae Romae
Final spot: #578 out of 3473, or 83%.
No comments:
Post a Comment